The Blog

My family and I visited the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami Beach today to see the AFRICOBRA exhibit curated by Jeffreen M. Hayes, Ph.D.

AFRICOBRA (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists) was founded in 1968 and was a a collective of artists that created images that defined the visual aesthetic of the Black Arts Movement.  The artistic movement was a complement to the Black Power Movement that centered the liberation of Black people, taking up and extending the arms of the Civil Rights Movement.  The founders, like many artists of the 1960s and 1970s, understood that their artistic voices could contribute to the liberation and continue unifying the Black community as a whole.

On the occasion of the collective’s 50th anniversary, this exhibit was mounted and opened Nov. 27, 2018 and runs until April 7, 2019.  “AFRICOBRA…is an invitation to be part of a community and part of family.  It is an invitation to reconnect to the core of humanity.”  If you are in North Miami, it is an exhibit worth visiting and showcases wonderful paintings, drawings, prints, and textiles.  I was delighted to see tapestries and other textile expressions featured in the exhibit, and want to share some of those pieces with the reader.  The installation is beautiful – colorful with contextual information about the group and the movement.  The anniversary exhibit includes early and recent work of the artists.  There is LOTS of great art, but I am focusing on the artists of these textile pieces for this post:  Napoleon Jones-Henderson and Jae Jarrell.

Napoleon Jones-Henderson, Akan Family Group, 1987, tapestry, 34 x 37 inches

Jae Jarrell, Frock You, 1994, wool, wood, mixed media, 73 1/4 x 48 1/2 x 6 inches

Napoleon Jones-Henderson, Word Warrior-ess, June Jordan, 2003, enamel on copper, textiles, cowrie shells, and Spanish moss 60 x 48 x 48 inches

Napoleon Jones-Henderson, TCB, 1970, tapestry, 72 x 54 inches

Napleon Jones-Henderson, Decade of the Woman, 1989, tapestry and appliqué, 53 x 50 inches

Napoleon Jones-Henderson, So-We-TOO (Black Men Rise), 1974-5, tapestry, 58 x 49 inches

Napoleon Jones-Henderson, Stop Genocide, 1975, tapestry, 62 x 48 inches

Jae Jarrell, Jazz Scramble Jacket, 2015, silkscreened cowhide splits, dimensions variable

Jae Jarrell, Bird of Paradise Jacket and Crown, Ode to Tie-Dyed Suede, 2018, suede, 80 x 20 x 20 inches